Our TENTH anniversary
Self-isolating couple’s romantic getaway.. in their own back garden
A COUPLE celebrated their “tent” anniversary by having a romantic night of self-isolation under canvas in their back garden.
Kevin and Stephanie McGonigal wanted to mark a decade together with a short break. Then Covid-19 got in the way.
But like many folk, they aren’t letting the coronavirus completely spoil their plans.
Kevin, 44, explained: “We thought of Krakow. Then coronavirus started. We looked at London. Then it started hitting London.
“By the time we narrowed it down to Gleneagles, everything was shut. The back garden was our only option.”
It’s not quite a luxury hotel in Perthshire but their deluxe tent made an impressive al fresco honeymoon suite. It has a fitted carpet and they added a double mattress, chairs, tables, rugs and heaters. Fairy lights and daffodils completed the set up.
Kevin even installed his beloved coffee machine.
Dinner, cooked on the barbecue, was steak and chips for him, mussels and chips for her, washed down with a bottle of champagne.
They pair, from Stirling, are regular campers but usually head for the Lake District, the Cotswolds or the Highlands rather than setting it up in the garden.
But unlike a regular campsite, here they can open the French windows and watch their own telly from the tent.
It’s not how Kevin, a technical officer for a furniture manufacturer, expected to be spending his 10th wedding anniversary.
But he said: “It turned out better than we could have hoped.
“If us sitting in the back garden drinking champagne helps keep other folks safe, that’s fine with me.”